


Snow Was Falling When We First Met

by Shirokira



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Detention, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirokira/pseuds/Shirokira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Dude, nobody move. There's a spider on the floor and I want to catch it." Eponine says as she closes in to the small creature by Courfeyrac's chair. Turns out, everyone in the ABC but Musichetta, Marius, Joly and Jehan went to detention. And the other kids in detention who weren't part of their little group found an escape plan after Mrs. Robert, the supervisor, left for a staff meeting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow Was Falling When We First Met

It was a Wednesday morning and snow was heavily littering the busy streets. The roads of the nearby high school presented only a few vehicles slowly moving due to the weather, while the students begrudgingly walk towards the gate of their impending doom with oversized jackets and high boots. The school always found excuses as to why students were to still attend school even under these extreme weathers. One of which was because they considered the school to be 'indestructable' and 'will stay strong for the student's futures'. Everyone calls total bullshit on this because the students barely concentrate in school in a normal class scenario, let alone in a fucking whirlpool of cold-ass weather.

Debates and student protests have been going on since time immemorial about the weather and the not-so-safe conditions that go along with it. Enjolras is one of those who don't fail to show up during these arguments, and although majority of the protests initiated by the students are ignored by the authorities, he still pursues his beliefs with a burning passion and carries on like a winner.

His closest friend, Combeferre, doesn't really share Enjolras' passion but surely knows what's reasonable and what's borderline stupid. He goes with Enjolras during protests not only for moral support, but the determination Enjolras expresses when he fights for what he believes in motivates the shit out of Combeferre. And he's not the only one. All the members of the ABC (a group Courfeyrac started, Musichetta assembled and Enjolras named and lead) support Enjolras as well.

After another unsuccessful attempt at informing the school staff about the safety hazards in forcing students to attend school in the middle of the coldest night of the year, Enjolras walked out of the principal's office with the promise of a two hour after-school detention. Combeferre stood outside the office reading an abridged version of 'Hamlet' with his glasses askew. Occassionally nodding and scrunching his face in distress.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Enjolras asked. Combeferre looked up and gave him a stern look, awknowledging his presence before going back to his reading. "We have politics together." he stated matter-of-factly, or more like sarcastically questioned in an intelligent manner. Combeferre knew what Enjolras needed to cool off and that's exactly what he gave him. A cup of coffee. No matter what flavour it may be, Enjolras does love his coffee. He accepted it with a small thanks and a smile and they headed off.

They began walking towards their room and Enjolras internally groans as he realizes that their room was still located at the far end of the other building. "You do realize you're going to be late as a consequence of waiting." Enjolras sighed. He never wants to be a reason why his friends get into trouble, but him and Combeferre going into their classes late has almost always been a regular occurance due to him barging into the principal's office demanding changes to be made. He can't help it, it's what he does best, apart from keeping his honours title, too, of course.

Combeferre scratches behind his ears and just hums in agreement, a gesture he does when he knows he's screwed. They continue their walk to the other building as they are accompanied by the slap of the harsh winter wind hitting their faces. Enjolras took a long sip from his coffee, the quiet sound of the winter morning, music to his ears.

===

Detention was quite uneventful for Eponine in the first few minutes to say the least. No one fortunately had the patience-shattering punishment of scribbling 'I will not spray paint the gym lockers anymore' repeatedly in the board or writing five page essays on why authority is a must in school premises. These punishments mostly apply to Eponine and she'll run out of bullshit to write on those papers if it keeps on happening. She swears that it made her handwriting more intricate than it made her sense of good will better. It is also apparent that the school's way of disciplining students is disappointing for they only force them into a system that the students don't even believe in. Plus, detention is so fucking juvenile.

"Dude, nobody move. There's a spider on the floor and I want to catch it." She says as she closes in to the small creature by Courfeyrac's chair. Turns out, everyone in the ABC but Musichetta, Marius, Joly and Jehan went to detention. And the other kids in detention who weren't part of their little group found an escape plan after Mrs. Robert, the supervisor, left for a staff meeting. 'I trust that all of you in here behave or consider yourselves in another round of detention tomorrow' she said before she took her leave. She always doesn't notice the lack of students in the room anyway.

"Shit!-" Courfeyrac screamed as he jumped out of his chair and accidentally stepping on Eponine's fingers and the spider. Eponine cursed a thousand colourful words while nursing her right hand as Courfeyrac desperately tries to remove the spider residue from his new vans he most likely bought on ebay. Everyone just rolled their eyes and laughed at the silliness of the situation.

As most of them get sent to detention quite often, ABC meetings are held during those hours. The ones who keep on missing the meetings are Joly and Jehan. Jehan prefers to not get in trouble because he thinks it's 'bothersome' to spend an extra hour at school and would rather go back home more than anything while joly is just plainly too busy with his extra medical studies to actually try to stir up some trouble and get him into detention. As of today, Marius and Musichetta, who are actually frequent detention losers, managed to surpass an opportunity to attend an ever-so-important meeting of the ABC for god-knows-what reason.

Everyone turned their heads when Eponine suddenly rose from her chair and called their attentions. "Shut up for five seconds, I have to say something." She said as she went infront of the room. Bahorel snickered but was immediately shushed by Enjolras. "I know it's the middle of the semester and all that but I have this friend-" she sighed and continued "He's my childhood friend and we were neighbors for so long until they moved out because of his father's job. We still talk and meet up occasionally so I don't hold a grudge or anything." She started explaining quickly.

"He'll be moving in here tomorrow and will be starting school the next week. He won't have much friends yet so if you don't mind us keeping him company for a while that'll be great." Eponine looked at everyone's faces expectantly with high hopes and though she already knew the answer, she still wanted to confirm and confront them about it. After all, it's rare that someone moves into a new school in the middle of nowhere. It's also rare that Enjolras will accept new members he doesn't personally know or personally cares about. She swears that guy is married to his life plan.

"Uh, why didn't we know of this friend of the past?" Feuilly interjected. Some nodded their heads in agreement. "Because you never asked." Eponine shrugged, feeling very smart for her answer. Enjolras rolled his eyes at that.

After some pretentious deliberation between the group, they all smiled brightly at Eponine. Apart from Enjolras who rarely smiles. "Alright man, but you have to promise us one thing." Bossuet grinned as he stood up from his chair and patted her shoulders. "Free drinks from him if he wants to enter the cult. Joining the 'Le Amis de I'ABC' ain't free after all." Her smile went from ear to ear as she held her head high and spoke with a proud tone. "Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem."

===

"Fucking cold-ass weather." Grantaire said shivering as he entered the campus with only a hoodie and a scarf to keep him warm. His jeans barely keep him from the cold and the nike he'd worn was old and kind of torn on the backside, making his situation even worse. It's been a week since he moved to his new home and he wished that Eponine warned him about the shit storm disguised as a 'snowy weather' he'd be getting himself into. He lifted his scarf and practically shoved his bare hands into his pockets and kept walking, wishing he would receive some heat to keep himself alive from this weather.

Grantaire held up the campus map and rotated it several times as if he was lost. Which he is. He cursed Eponine for having a cold and refusing to help him through his first day due to her unreasonable arguments of 'it's too early' and 'i'm dying'. He had been too shy to ask other students for directions, but at the same time, he needed help before the bell rings in two minutes, as his schedule says.

He rushed and sprinted, following the map he was given. "Shit!" He heard as he noticed the person infront of him too late as they collided with too much force at each other. Both of them fell to the ground but not before the other spilling coffee onto Grantaire's jacket and map. Although the spilt coffee provided him temporary warmth, he couldn't help but be aggrivated.

"What the fuck?!" He snapped and stood up as his sight was greeted by a man with blond locks and crystal blue eyes. He stopped for a moment to indulge at the man's features as the guy was practically an american dream with his deep-set eyes and pouty lips. Grantaire restrained himself as best as he could to touch those golden locks because the man was technically a still a stranger despite being in the same school.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking- uhm. Let me help you up." He stammered and offered his hand. But the guy slapped it away and stood up, picking up the now empty cup of espresso. 'Geez, what crawled up his ass?' Grantaire thought. But he said it out loud before he even thought of it. It earned him a glare and a frown from the angel-looking man. "Watch where you're going." he said as he dramatically and gracefully (in Grantaire's point of view) threw the cup on the conveniently placed trash bin beside him and left without saying a word. Grantaire was confused, and worse, he forgot to ask directions. But it's not like the spoiled rich kid will help him anyway, so he continued to look for his class. And after some twist and turns here and there, he was ten minutes late in his first day in school in the middle of the semester.

===

Grantaire still had one class left and Eponine decided to show up halfway through the last and only class they had together. The teacher didn't even notice Eponine's late arrival, or didn't even bother to awknowledge it. She slapped Grantaire's back (very forcefully, and possibly dislocating his shoulders) and bid him a quiet welcome and good afternoon like a civilised person. "What's with us and coming halfway through, huh?" She joked while the teacher wasn't looking. Grantaire smirked at that. "That's what she said." And soon enough, both of them were on a laughing fit. The teacher glared at both of them so they quieted down. A few minutes still remains in order to end the last class, but Grantaire was having none of it. He snuck in some alcohol in his flask and drank it as discretely as he can. But betrayal falls upon him as Eponine screamed at him. "What the fucking hell are you doing?!" With a smile on her face. The world seems to move in slow motion for Grantaire as the teacher turned around and glared at Eponine. But after noticing Grantaire's flask, she immediately ended the class and both of them got sent to detention. The other students gave them funny looks and looks of approval. Some even thanked them for an early dismissal from the teacher. 'Great' Grantaire thought. 'Detention on my first day.'

It was a really slow walk to the room that took almost twenty minutes of Eponine and Grantaire catching up to what they missed. Smiling and laughing about the untold stories and unforgettable memories they once shared. Grantaire sniffled in response to the cold weather as he entered the room after Eponine. He assumed that those were her friends as they smiled and greeted her with welcoming arms. A good amount of students were there and majority of them were sophomores including him and some juniors. He took a swing of his flask and drank it all in one gulp. Grantaire was almost freezing in hypothermia and alcohol was his best bet at warming his body temperature up. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the man who was physically blessed by Apollo himself. The guy was staring into him like he was some sort of an alien, but quickly looked away when he noticed Grantaire staring back. There was a hint of red in Grantaire's cheeks as he realized he was staring. He could probably pass that off as the cold because his ass was freezing in hell.

He approached the man in hopes to buy him coffee in apology. Grantaire might be an ass, but he doesn't believe in blaming others for his mistakes. In fact, he doesn't believe in anything at all. Going through a couple of chairs, he finally reached the man as the other tried to ignore him. "Hey-" Grantaire tried to make conversation. The man glared at him, which was probably his resting bitch face speaking. That or he remembers Grantaire and still holds a grudge against his guts. He knows that he's not going anywhere with this man so he tried to propose his initial plan of buying him coffee. And that caught the man's attention and he tried to stifled a smile. This was the story of how Grantaire fell in love with an angry, yet overly gorgeous potato sack. The blush he blamed the cold weather for spread wider that it reached his ears. "Sure. I'd love one." the man said and in that moment, he saw no one but them in that room, and he immediately knew that he was fucked for the rest of his life.

Everyone was looking at them with wide grins. No one expected the newbie to have the guts to talk to Mr-I-stick-to-my-life-plan. But no one was expecting for Enjolras to be nice about it. As everyone was confused about the sudden mood change of Enjolras, Eponine barged between the two. Too close for comfort. "I assumed that the two of you already met?" She asked with suspicion. Musichetta then stubbed a finger at Enjolras and asked him why he met the new kid sooner than she did, in which Enjolras replied was "It's kind of a small school." All of them crowded and gathered infront of Grantaire and Enjolras like a wolf gang ready to pounce. Introductions were made and Grantaire had to keep in mind that he had to memorize all their names. The other girl was named Musichetta, the Apollo guy was Enjolras, and then, there was Cour- Coufray- Courfre- that guy who had a nice smile and a name he couldn't pronounce. Behind him were Marius and Bossuet. The tall guy who didn't seem to care about the whole affair was Bahorel, who continued reading his physics notes. The one beside him was Feuilly and the one with glasses was Combeferre. Joly and Jehan were names he heard, but he assumed that they weren't there at the moment.

Grantaire was overwhelmed about the fact that Eponine had made more friends in her second year of high school than he had made in his entire life. But somehow, he was happy that he and Eponine would be friends again after a long time. He feared that after his mother's death and his father's decision of moving them out of their old family house, they wouldn't see each other again. But Eponine was as stubborn as ever and kept in touch no matter what. They'd even ship each other Christmas and birthday presents when the times come. Knowing that Eponine had her new friends kind of gave him a feeling of competition at first, but the feeling dissipitated one he got to know them quite a bit. He was also perplexed as to why they would name their group 'Le Amis De I'ABC'. He felt like it was a middle school thing to name their friendship group, but he just shrugged it off and kept the opinion to himself. After all, they welcomed him with open arms, might as well do the same.

After the introductions, the supervisor arrived just in time that they were on their seats. She didn't even notice the lack of students in the the room (who weren't the ABC) and just went along with the flow of detention. Grantaire brought out his sketchpad and began drawing aimlessly to his mind. Strokes bold and refined. He thought of the different inspirations and firsts that happened today and that brought a sense of serenity and happiness to him. That was projected in his artworks. He then had a new found inspiration of drawing his friends, focusing a lot on Enjolras. His concentration was key to his out-of-this-world state. By the time he was drawing Bahorel reading another book, he didn't notice Musichetta beside him looking over at his drawings. He almost fell over his chair, but caught himself midway and quickly hid the sketchpad. Musichetta was smiling and gave him a double thumbs up and a bright smile. He turned to a couple of them looking at him with their brows up, not saying a word. He sheepishly smiled at them and returned to drawing. Seeing Enjolras' face in the crowd gave him a new inspiration.

===

A month was what they needed to genuinely warm up to each other, and they finally got to see Grantaire's true colours. And by that they mean endless horrible puns, nightly drinking at a bar with fake ID's and constantly bickering with Enjolras with the littlest of things. Combeferre was convinced that the Grantaire they once met and the Grantaire they knew now were completely different people. And the look Grantaire gives Enjolras without him looking is the most oblivious Enjolras can get. Grantaire told no one, except for Eponine but everyone in the ABC practically knows that Grantaire is in love with Enjolras, but the one who is loved was the one who never seemed to notice. It was difficult to read whether or not Enjolras feels the same though. They once had a meeting tackling this topic once when Grantaire and Enjolras didn't get detention. And surprisingly, Jehan got into trouble by accidentally cursing infront of the principal. They knew it was the perfect time to discuss that both Grantaire and Enjolras were stupid. 

It was a fairly cold day after the month of January and all seemed to be going well for Grantaire. He was your average sophomore wanting to get out of school as soon as possible, yes. But surprisingly, he never got failing grades in his studies. He would say, "The topics were actually more difficult in my previous school." When they asked. This month was also when the most protests frequently happen for some god-forsaken reason. That means Enjolras is busy with research and such. Which also means Grantaire can piss him off without him having the time to fight back. The moment Grantaire realized this was the one and only time he prayed to his non-exsistent atheist god a thank you.

Bahorel and Bossuet was almost always with Enjolras and Combeferre during these protests in case things got out of hand. But today, only Grantaire was with Enjolras. They both sighed deeply in despair when Bossuet said this and as people who have no choice on the matter, only agreed to take the offer. Grantaire didn't have a concept on what protests were suppose to be or what they'll be like, but he followed Enjolras' lead nonetheless. Grantaire was having a James Bond bodyguard mission moment when an actual fight broke out between the company they were trying to protest against and the civilians, and for the second time today, Grantaire was at a loss for what is happening. He quickly shoved through all the people looking for Enjolras. And he swears he heard someone say about the police being involved if ever the fight gets worse. Grantaire was starting to feel a cold shiver down his spine looking and searching for Enjolras when he finally found him. Enjolras was covered in bruises and he had a cut on his lips and right cheek. He also received a black eye and this angered Grantaire. 'How the fuck could someone destroy such an immaculate image?' He thought, sarcastically or not, as he rushed to Enjolras' side and rescued him out of the crowd like a princess and his knight. But in a different perception.

"I don't need your help" Enjolras said, but his body betraying him as he tried to stand on his own. "Sure, princess" Grantaire said as he put Enjolras' arm on his shoulder. They walked, and Enjolras kept limping. They stopped by a nearby park so Grantaire can adjust him. But they settled for resting, the afternoon wind blowing towards their faces. As Grantaire looked beside him, the light hits Enjolras' face with the perfect shadow and the light lining his features. He couldn't stop staring at him and watched him like a hawk for the next minute. And in that moment, he felt like Enjolras was truly an angel. An angel that he was madly in love with. An angel who may never return his feelings. 

Enjolras sighed and looked up into the sky. He closed his eyes and turned to face Grantaire. "I- uh... Thank you." He quietly said with a hint of melancholy lacing his words. Grantaire has never seen or heard Enjolras sad before and it really hit a soft spot for him. "I'm sorry you had to see that" he continued. There are instances where one doesn't need tears to know that they're sad. Grantaire knows that these are one of those. An unwavering feeling of the need to comfort Enjolras overcame the sense of pity that he felt for the man, and it stirred up the unforgotten memories of when they first met. The memory of wanting to see the grumpy man happy. And right now, that's what he wanted to do.

Grantaire was torn between hugging Enjolras and comforting him with words. But before he could do either, Enjolras spoke. "I just- I wanted to make a change, you know? I see the world suffer and it makes me guilty that I'm not even doing anything to help. I'm insignificant." 

"That's not true." Grantaire suddenly rose up and looked at Enjolras. "All you've done in your life since I met you was join as much protests as you can, donate what you have and make a difference." He said with so much sincerity and seriousness that it surprised Enjolras himself. "Shit, if anyone here is insignificant, it would be me-" "Now let's not say tha-" Enjolras tried to reason, but was cut off by Grantaire again. "No, let me finish. You think you're insignificant? I don't fight for shit, Enjolras. I don't fight for a fucking cause or for anything! The only thing I'm fighting for and I know I won't ever get is y-" Grantaire caught himself before he could even spill. His vision was blurry, but he had a clear view of Enjolras' confused face. "Fighting for what?" He said with a profound curiosity, lightly touching Grantaire's arm.

Grantaire dismissed him and tried to silently calm his heart beats. A small touch was giving him unforgivable thoughts and he still had to take care of Enjolras' wounds. He took one last look at Enjolras, eyes sad and pained. And then, they motioned them to head to a pharmacy and buy band-aids and ice packs.

===

"Dude, hand me the remote." Courfeyrac said sitting at the couch, holding his arms out to joly. It was a week after the incident and classes were finally suspended for the next three days due to bad weather. There are some things even the school can't uphold. Everyone was staying over at Enjolras' house for the free snacks and because he was the only one who had three working heaters at home. Count on the rich family to provide everything worth more than the blood of the lamb for one child. The downside is Enjolras was almost always alone at home with the butler and the old and grumpier-than-Enjolras chinese maid they had.

"Hell no, get it yourself. I'm studying" Joly said, but handing over the remote anyway. The sofa was big enough for five people. Combeferre was beside Feuilly and him beside Grantaire. Courfeyrac was beside Jehan, and they are what everyone assumes to be cuddling. They've been together for a couple of weeks now and they're like the power couple apart from the polyamorous relationship of Bossuet, Joly and Musichetta, and Marius and his girlfriend Cosette from another school. Marius was trying to find a signal to call Cosette. Joly and Musichetta were sitting at the table and Bossuet, Eponine and Bahorel were rummaging through Enjolras' room like they own the place. Overall, everyone was enjoying themselves.

"Why are you guys here in my house again?" Enjolras walks in the living room soaking wet, holding two grocery bags from the convenience store. "Have you ever considered that when you guys come over, our bills reach sky high." He started undressing his rain coat and went over to arrange the pantry. "Have you ever considered that you could just ask your housekeeper to buy those." Grantaire said holding a can of beer on one hand and a slice of pizza on the other. He left his sofa crease and went over to Enjolras. "If I were you, I'd take advantage of that, princess."

"Well, I'm not like you." Enjolras interjected, back still on him. Grantaire smirked and ignored the pang he felt on his chest after Enjolras' little insult. He placed the pizza and bottle on the table and helped Enjolras with the pantry. There were several things Grantaire wanted to ignore, first was the occassional touching of hands that he'd encounter with him. Second was the look Enjolras would give him when they would touch was a mix of surprise and stunned, which is the cutest thing in the world in Grantaire's eyes.

After the last can of Dr. Pepper has been placed and the pantry shut, Grantaire couldn't bring himself to look at Enjolras anymore or he would fangirl infront of him. He has tarnished his reputation too many times to make another mistake. While he was consumed by his thoughts, a hand grabbed his chin and made him look up. There he saw Enjolras' eyes, clear as the bluest skies, looking back at him. He was enchanted by everything Enjolras was. Grantaire could move an inch more and they would be kissing. Just a little more. He closed his eyes and tried to move. But he thought better of himself. Maybe Enjolras was just caught in the heat of the moment. After all, they were standing really, really close to each other.

Grantaire looked away and Enjolras quickly regained himself and jolted back, his head hitting the kitchen cabinet and falling back from the counter to the floor. Grantaire tried to help him. "Shit!-" But he lost his balance and accidentally slipped and fell down as well. Their situation could not get any weirder. Grantaire was on top of Enjolras with his hands on the sides of Enjolras' waist and his knees in between the other's legs. Both were profusely blushing and panting. 

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Combeferre grinned, leaning against the door frame. Both scrambled off the floor and pretended to dust themselves. "I swear to god, Ferre, it was an accident. He fell and I slipped and-" Grantaire frantically says, using his hands as gestures and making him look more nervous. "Yeah, it was my fault I-" Enjolras joined him and the conversation ended up looking more stupid than understandable. Combeferre laughed as he entered the kitchen to ransack the fridge for a bottle of coke and potato chips from the counter.

"Oh my god, you guys. Get a freaking room." He snickered as closed the refridgerator door with his feet. "Use protection!" He yelled after them and left with the baggage. Enjolras and Grantaire refused to look at each other, both blushing like crazy. Grantaire fidgeted with his hands as they began to feel sweaty. Minutes of awkward silence passed by and not one of them said a word to each other. "Uh, I'll go." Grantaire quickly broke the ice and sprinted for the door. Enjolras was at a loss for words. He was the one who initiated all of this. If he had kept his hands to himself, none of this would have happened. But as he was looking at his hand, the hand that touched Enjolras' face, he had a feeling of malcontentment and longing for him. 

He had always felt like this when he was around Grantaire. But he always shrugged them off as hatred or resentment. They were polar opposites after all. How could someone be so... ignorant? Benighted? No, those are the words he would never compare to Grantaire. He was anything but those. He knew he cared for most things, and he knew that Grantaire was wise, not uneducated. That was no surprise, but he knew in his heart that all these started with his encounter with an improperly dressed stranger in the hallway two minutes before the morning bell one faithful day. The biggest surprise was Grantaire himself entering his life. He wasn't part of his plans.

"Sorry." Grantaire entered the kitchen once again and grabbed the beer can and pizza that was left untouched on the kitchen table and scrambled to get out of the room, tripping on his way out. That was when Enjolras realized that he already fell for Grantaire. And damn, he fell hard.

===

The soft taps of the last rain pour of the school year in the classroom window were the hymns of lullaby for the students as they realized that school will be ending in just an hour. The finals are every student's best dreams, yet their worst nightmares as well. The ABC had a study group the night before the finals which was held at Enjolras's place. But it can hardly be called a study session. 'Pillow fights and sleepless nights, bitches!' Courfeyrac would scream as he grabbed the pillow from underneath the table and hit Musichetta in the face. Everyone but Joly, Enjolras, Combeferre, Jehan and Feuilly were procrastinating, and it seemed like they could never move them out of their seats to play. Not even Courfeyrac's puppy eyes could bring them down. They were apparently stronger than bricks.

Long story short, they were all kicked out of the Enjolras residences because of the ruckus and the noise they were creating that made it difficult for Enjolras and the others to concentrate. The neighbors were also woken up from their sleep due to the shenanigans.

The minute hand of the clock was moving excrutiatingly slow for Grantaire in his last hour of the year. 'Come on.' He would whisper, occassionally looking at the clock, tapping his toes and looking anxious. He was sure he tackled atleast one of these topics during his short study night yesterday after being kicked out. But sure enough, the man who boasted his not-failing grades was probably about to fail miserably. Usually about this time, he'd be drowning his problems with alcohol. But he already finished the bottle, drowning his problems with the other subjects. 'I'm screwed' he thought.

The bell finally rang and Grantaire had never been so happy in his entire life. He skated out the door and down to the hallway doing silly dances. People would constantly look at him like he was possessed, but they didn't seem to care less other than that. He was greeted by a less than exited Enjolras on the way. The awkwardness from before had already emerged back into one of their arguments and they returned to their normal selves once again, although with a little bit of skepticism. He greeted him with the widest smiles he could manage and gave him a slap on his back. Enjolras looked too tired to give him a glare. So he settled for a small nod and carried on like nothing happened, back slouched and head hung low. Something was wrong and Grantaire could feel it.

He followed Enjolras to his car, insisting on going with him and driving him, but after debates on his soberness, Enjolras drove. It was quiet, the faint pitter-patter of the rain served to fill in their silence. Grantaire finally gathered the courage to speak up. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked. He didn't get an answer so he tried once more. "If you can't tell me what's wrong, it's okay. But you must know tha-" but he got cut off. "I'm fine." Enjolras deadpanned and gripped harder on the stirring wheel. At this rate, they'd be a goner if he won't calm down. "You sure?" Grantaire asked, feeling like an idiot. Of fucking course he wasn't doing okay. "Peachy." Enjolras said and pressed down to the accelerator. They were going at sixty miles per hour now and quickly picking up more speed without any signs of him slowing down. Grantaire's heart was racing and he began to feel panicky.

"Dude, stop!" Grantaire screamed and held on for dear life as Enjolras slammed the breaks hard. It was a close call but they almost hit an elementary girl crossing the pedestrian lane. "W- what was that?! You almost ran over a fucking girl, Enjolras!" Grantaire was filled with disbelief and incredulity at the scene before him. After Enjolras realized what had occured, he pulled up on the side of the road and hid his face behind his hands. And for the first time in the history of history, Enjolras, the ever-so-mighty and angelic god, was crying. And Grantaire had absolutely no clue what to do.

"It's all my fault." Enjolras managed to cough out between sobs. Grantaire softened up at the sight. He started shushing him and then rubbed circles around his back for comfort. "What was? Enj, you didn't do anything." He tried but that only made the sobbing worse. The car was silent for a moment, only the sobbing was heard. He then spoke up, "I-if I didn't have a fight with her- if I hadn't been so fucking stubborn she would never have-" Grantaire was full on hugging him now and Enjolras leaned to the touch. "Shh. It's okay. It's wasn't your fault, it was all on to fate, man." He tried to reason but Enjolras was having none of it. "It's because of me! Stop making it sound like I wasn't the one to blame for her fucking accident! If it weren't for me, my mother would have not fallen to a coma! What the fuck do you know about fate?! You don't even believe in anything!" He screamed and Grantaire let him go the moment Enjolras was thrashing. He tried to be the calm one out of the two of them, which was usually the other way around. But he was doing this for him after all.

"Enjolras please, calm down." He reached for him but Enjolras swatted his hand away. "Don't touch me. Don't fucking tell me what to do. And don't look at me like that. Don't look at me like you know what I'm going through! I don't need your pity." He seethed through gnashed teeth. Grantaire was holding on to a thin string and was losing his cool. He was ready to fight back, but he tried to restrain himself as best as he could. "Enjolras. Tell me, what don't I get? What am I missing? What was it that I don't understand?!" He screamed at him and all the untold feelings of the past all fell to anger.

"You don't know what it's like for the person you cherish to be on the verge of death!" He yelled at Grantaire. Tears streaming down his face. At this point, both of them are screaming at each other with no control of their emotions. The rain began to pour harder as if it was mimicking both of their anger and distress. Grantaire couldn't hold back any longer, and the moment he opened his mouth, he wasn't able to stop. "You're wrong." Grantaire managed to say. 

"I know what it's like for the person you loved get taken away in the hands of horrible people. I sure as hell know the feeling of guilt and misery over the fact that I couldn't do anything to stop them from murdering my mother in the place I once called home because I was afraid of embracing death. And don't ever tell me that I never knew what it felt like to blame myself until this day because of one stupid little mistake of not locking the fucking doors when I was told to do so. Because I know that feeling Enjolras! And you better shut the fuck up if you think witnessing the murder of my own mother at the age of ten was out of my understanding because I had to go through a shit ton of therapy that did absolutely nothing to erase the regret and the pain that I still feel." Grantaire's face was now red and his eyes puffy. He was trying all he could to not say that out loud. But his patience was thinning out and he couldn't control his temper.

Before he could let Enjolras speak any further, he opened the car door, and stormed out, slamming the door shut. The rain was going down hard, but he couldn't care less. He let the cold wind blow him away to erase the memories of today. He carefully looked about his surroundings and noticed that the direction they were initially driving to was not Enjolras' house, but the hospital. He thanked the rain for shielding his face through the busy pavement. He was soaking, his eyes were puffy and he was aimlessly walking the streets without any protection against the cold. People were looking at him funny, others gave him the look of pity. But then again, he never cared about all those. And as he was walking through the foggy streets of the city, he remembered that he forgot to tell Enjolras that he was already leaving for France tomorrow.

===

After their fight, Enjolras went straight for the hospital. He never expected such a dark past from Grantaire. And he knew he made a mistake of judging him before he knew what he went through. But he was so caught in the moment that the only thing he wanted to do was defend himself against all odds. Even if it those odds were Grantaire. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe he should have never said anything at all. Enjolras thought about apologizing to Grantaire as soon as things cool off. They still need time after all.

He entered the room, and there, he was greeted by his father. The man was carrying flowers for her and it warmed Enjolras' heart. He felt a sharp stabbing of guilt in his chest that he was the reason for those 'get well soon' flowers and his father's tear-stained face. He approach his dad with the same sadness and melancholy that he felt. The night he had a study session with the ABC was the night he got into a fight with his mother. And if he weren't so focused on studying, none of this would have happened. His mother only wanted to spend what little time they had before going back to work with him, but he shoved her away.

His father motioned for Enjolras to sit down beside him on a chair by his mother's bed. Several tubes were protruding her body. As he was about to cry, his father smiled at him, saying 'don't worry, she'll be here tomorrow'. All the tiredness from his sleepless nights and his agrument with Grantaire came down upon him and soon, he fell asleep at the soothing sound of the airconditioning and the smell of medicines in the room by his mother's side.

...

He woke up to the quiet but frantic voices suddenly barging in the room. There stood Eponine and Combeferre with worried looks on their faces. His father was no where in sight. "Enjolras, we have to go!" Eponine shrieked as she was tugging at his arm. Enjolras rubbed off the sleep and asked them what was going on. They gave him dumbstruck faces of disbelief. "What in the world are you saying? Did you forget?" Combeferre asked, looking at his wrist watch. Enjolras looked at the clock and noticed that a day has passed. "Forget what?" He asked quietly.

"Grantaire's leaving for France, remember? Did he not tell you? We're headed for the airport now, but we're kind off running late because we were looking for you." Eponine said, brushing her hair out of her face. He looked at their faces trying to see the humour lying beneath them, but he found none. "Are you serious?" He said quickly standing up. But he recalled the fight they had yesterday and suddenly, he lost motivation. "I don't think he wants to see me. We- we fought yesterday and I don't think he already forgave me." He said sulking.

Combeferre grabbed his shoulders and shook him like he was crazy. "Uh, hello?! If he was mad at you he wouldn't be asking us to pick your ass up to go to the airport?" He said matter-of-factly. Eponine nodded and Enjolras considered this, but he still had one more task to uphold. "But who's going to take care of my mother? What if she wakes up and nobody was there to assist her?" He stated, thinking of the worst possible scenarios. But Eponine calmly patted his shoulder and said, "Your father is here, he just went down to get drinks and probably some food. We already asked for his permission. He wanted us to tell you that your friends are important, too if ever you didn't want to go with us." She smiled. And at that moment, Enjolras was ready to head off. He kissed his mother's forehead and ran for the door. "Bye, Mrs. Enjolras' mom! We're stealing your son for a while!" Eponine said before they took off.

That was the longest one hour ride Enjolras had ever endured. And he was the type to like car rides and road trips. He was still skeptical about Grantaire wanting to see his face before he takes off. He might as well be better off not seeing the person who reminded him of his past, right? But he knew that would break his own heart if he didn't see Grantaire one last time before a long journey will separate them any further.

They went through several security checks before they got to see Grantaire and the other members surrounding him. They were all there. Heck, even Eponine's brother who Grantaire always used to babysit was there. It filled a great hole in his heart that even if Grantaire was with them for a short while, they still loved him like he had been there since forever. Grantaire was smiling and laughing at something Courfeyrac said when they made eye contact. Enjolras thought he'd drop the smile. But he didn't. He went and hugged Combeferre first with a hard slap on the back for good measures and ruffled his hair. Then he proceeded to comfort a crying Eponine. 'You'll leave me again!' and 'keep in touch more, idiot!' she said blowing her nose to Grantaire's sleeves. He made a disgusted sound and after some small talk, he looked at Enjolras and suddenly, there was only them. Like the moment they first truly met at detention.

"You don't have to apologize, if that's what you're thinking." Grantaire said as he faced him, his hazel eyes locking onto his plain blue ones. "I was never mad at you. I mean how could I be?" He chuckled and ruffled up Enjolras' hair. "This won't be the end of our story" Enjolras said as he placed Grantaire's hand on to his. Grantaire smiled. A smile that will put even the most beautiful model to shame. "Are you kidding me? Of course I will! Eponine will kill me if I tell her I won't come back!" He joked and they both laughed. That moment for Enjolras was sad, but perfect. Because he knew that Grantaire would still have a reason to come back. Even if that reason wasn't him. He'll be back. That was all it needed for a tear to drop down Enjolras' face. 'But when will he come back?', 'Will he even remember me?', 'Will he find someone else?'. Unwanted thoughts were racing in his mind like crazy, but before he could say more, the last call for the passengers boarding to France was announced and befor they knew it, tears were streaming down both their faces.

"I wish you'd find someone you'll love and truly believe in someday." Enjolras said, words he never wanted believed in for the first time escaped his lips. Tears dripping down his cheeks, nose red and eyes puffy. 'He never failed to look so beautiful and perfect.' Grantaire thought. He'd come back, if it meant seeing his face and falling in love all over again, he'd definitely come back for this. For Enjolras.

"Well" Grantaire said, smiling brightly. Stepping closer to Enjolras and cupping his tears-stained cheeks. "I didn't have to wait for that someday, princess." Grantaire kissed him shortly and smiled through the pain. "Because long before our story started, I already believed in you. "

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to thank all of you for reading the story and please point out any mistakes or inaccuracies that I have made. Hope you enjoyed this!


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